Spring loaded, trigger activated reel device for managing a rope or other line

ABSTRACT

A reel device for storing towing rope or line such as used in water skiing and like activities. A spring-loaded reel is contained in a ventilated housing. A short bridle line with a clip is carried on the reel for leading the tow rope into the housing. When an end of the tow line is attached to the clip and a trigger is pulled, the reel turns under action of the springs, winding the bridle and tow rope onto the reel. Most water in the line is squeezed out in the coiling process; the remainder is air dried through ventilation holes in the housing and reel sides. For use of the tow rope, the rope is pulled from the reel against the action of the springs, winding them back up. The tow rope is detached from the bridle line and affixed to the boat or other vehicle for use in pulling a skier through the water, or the like.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to reel devices used to wind, store, andlet out detachable lengths of ropes and lines such as waterskiing ropeson boats.

BACKGROUND OF THE ART

Tow ropes for waterskiing and like sports, and for utilitarian uses asbetween vehicles, need to be managed to avoid their tangling, gettinglost, wrapping about unintended objects, and like problems. Manual andother reels, including motorized reels as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,219,have been proposed and built to accomplish such management, but each hashad problems or is unduly complex and expensive for its intendedpurpose.

Other reels as for restraining pets, as for dog leashes, are madeintegral with the leash and so are built to be relatively strong toresist the forces applied to the line or leash. Such reels are notsuited, without adaptation, to hold great lengths of rope, up to 90feet, coiled and ready for use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to provide a reel device for storing,ready for use, a waterskiing or like tow rope that is simple, reliable,lightweight, and easy to use.

The reel device is made chiefly of plastic so as to be light in weightand resilient. It comprises a housing for containing moving partsincluding a rotatable drum, a pair of coil springs that arepre-tensioned for retracting a length of rope, as up to 90 feet, intothe housing and about the rotatable drum within the device, and a brakedevice that when released, as by a trigger assembly, allows rotation ofthe drum to coil the rope quickly into the housing. The reel ispreferably detached from the tow rope during use of the rope, which isattached to the boat or other vehicle, so that loads of a skier or othertowed item are not carried by the reel itself. If less than all the towrope is to be used for towing, a cleat or the like attached to the boator vehicle body may connect to a midpart of the tow rope to take theload of the towed object, while the reel remains connected to the rope.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded, rear perspective view of the component parts of apreferred form of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the reel with the tow rope coiledinside the reel and the tow rope handle connected to a fitting on thereel, for storage; and

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the reel with the tow ropeuncoiled from the reel and ready for use, the eyelet end free forconnection to the boat or other vehicle and the handle free for graspingby a water skier.

THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A reel device 10 for managing a rope or other line 12 is spring-loadedand is activated for coiling the rope or line 12 within the device 10 bya trigger 14. As shown in FIG. 1, the device 10 comprises first andsecond housing halves 20, 22, which are generally cylindrical in formand ventilated by numerous holes 24 through the outer parts for airdrying the tow rope 12 when it is wet. The housing half 20 is formedwith an upstanding axle 26 extending into the interior of the housingalong the axis of the housing 20, 22.

A first reel half 30 is formed with a central opening 32 sized to rideupon the axle 26 and with a cylindrical surface 34 spaced outwardly fromand about the axis and opening 32. A side portion 36 of the reel half 30is perforated about its outer part as at 38 but is solid in the centerpart, as at 40. The perforations 38 cooperate with the holes 24 in thehousing half 20 for air drying a wet tow rope wrapped on the surface 34.A ratchet surface, not shown but described below with respect to theother half of the reel, is also formed on the side of the side portion36. A short bridle 50 is affixed at one of its ends to the outer surface34 as at an eyelet 52, and the other end carries a snap hook or likedevice 54 for releasably connecting one end of the tow rope 12, as inFIG. 3, to the reel. Alternatively, the one end can be formed to passthrough the surface 34 and to connect to or about another membersurrounding the axle, as described below.

The space inwardly of the surface 34 in the first reel half 30 is fittedwith two upstanding studs 60. Over each stud is placed two outer washers62, a coil spring 64 with a tail 66, and two more, inner washers 68. Thetails 66 of the springs 64 engage about the axle 26, or into slotsformed in the axle 26 upon assembly of the unit; they may be fastenedwith pins as shown if desired. The spring 64 coils when the reel half 30is rotated in one direction about the axle 26 in the housing half 20 anduncoils when the reel half is rotated in the opposite direction. Usingtwo springs on two studs is desirable for redundancy and space saving,but other spring configurations may be used.

A second reel half 70 is formed to cooperate with the first reel half30. A cylindrical surface 72 is formed to cooperate with surface 34 ofthe first reel half and to interfit with it at its edge. An inner wall74 closes the space within the surface 34 of the first reel half 30 andover the springs 64 and washers 68; the two reel halves are fastenedtogether by screws 76 engaging from the wall 74 and into studs 60 of thefirst reel half 30. An outer side wall 78 of the second reel half 70 isformed with perforations 80, like the perforations 38 in the side wall36 of the first reel half 30, for aiding drying of wet rope wrapped onthe reel surfaces 34, 72.

A central hub 82 of the second reel half 70 extends from the inner wall74 on the axis of the axle 26, opening 32, and surface 34 of the firstreel half, and surface 72 of the second reel half. This hub journals onan axle, not shown, formed on the second housing half 22 along thataxis, similarly to axle 26 of the first housing half 20. A desirableform of the invention omits the eyelet 52 on the surface 34 of the firstreel half and passes the bridle through an aperture in the surface 72 toattach by a loop or other means to the hub 82.

Formed around the outer periphery of the side wall 78 of the second reelhalf 70 is a toothed ratchet arrangement 90, which cooperates with thetrigger assembly 14. The first reel half 30 has a similar ratchetarrangement, not shown. The ratchet arrangement 90 has sloping surfaces92 facing in the clockwise direction of FIG. 1 and radial stop surfaces94 facing in the counterclockwise direction. The trigger assembly 14has, at each side thereof, a latch 96 with surfaces 98 formed to engagethe stop surfaces 94 of the ratchet arrangement 90 and slide surfaces100 formed to ride over the sloping surfaces 92, depending on thedirection of rotation of the reel halves 30, 70. A coiled spring 102mounted in handle portions 104, 104 of the housing halves 20, 22 urgesthe trigger 14 and latches 96 downwardly into engagement with theratchet arrangement 90 on each of the reel halves 30, 70. The trigger 14when pulled upwardly into the handles 104 releases the stop surfaces 94of the latch 96 from the stop surfaces 94 in the ratchet arrangements,allowing the coil springs 64, 64 to drive the reel halves 30, 70 in adirection to wrap the tow line 12 on the surfaces 34, 72. The tow line12 can be withdrawn from the housing 20, 22 by pulling on it withsufficient force to overcome the forces of springs 64 acting throughtails 66 on the axle 26; in this case the trigger 14 and latches 96 willratchet over the sloping surfaces 92, emitting some noise but keepingthe rope extended as desired as the stop surfaces 94, 98 engage oneanother on each of the reel halves.

Formed in the periphery of the housing sides 20, 22 are three openings,110 at the bottom, 112 at the rear or left side in FIG. 1, and 114 atthe front or right side in FIG. 1. The bottom and rear ones of thewindows are covered with clear, perforated panels 116 and 118respectively, while the front window 114, through which the tow rope 12passes, remains open.

The two halves of the housing 20, 22 are held together by screws andnuts as shown, as is well known in the art. At the upper part of thefront and back of the unit, however, the screws pass through hollowtubes 120 to form cleats for affixing the bridle clip 52 and/or the towrope handle 122 during use or during storage, respectively, as in FIGS.2 and 3.

FIG. 2 shows the reel assembly 10 in a storage configuration, where thetow rope 12 is wound up entirely on the reel, on surfaces 72 and 34. Theforce of springs 64, 64 keeps the reel tight against the stops 94 in thelatching arrangement. The bit of extra line 12 shown could be taken upby simply pulling on the trigger 14 to allow the reel to turn further.The tow ripe handle 122 is conveniently tied to one of the cleats formedby tube 120, by means of a Velcro® strap or the like 124.

When the tow rope is to be used, as in FIG. 3, the handle 122 isdetached from the cleat and the strap is replaced there or to the rearof the housing 10. Without manipulating the trigger 14, the rope 12 ispulled from the reel 10, against the forces of the springs 64, windingthem up, and the rope is played out to a water skier so far as the ropegoes. When the bridle 50 is exposed, the rope 12 is detached from thehook 54 and the end of rope 12 is then attached to a strong part of theboat, typically a central ski pylon (not shown). The hook 54 isconveniently attached to the cleat formed by tube 120, so thataccidental activation of the trigger 14 does not spin the reel andunwind the springs 64, 64. The rope 12 should not remain attached to thereel 10 during use of the rope to tow a skier, as the reel structure isnot designed to take the towing forces imposed on the rope 12. However,if only part of the rope 12 is to be played out for use, the rope mayremain attached to the bridle 50 and hook 54 so long as an intermediatepoint on the tow rope 12 is securely attached to the boat, as by a cleator though a jam or cam cleat, sufficient to take the full load of theskier without slipping.

For first use, the reel assembly 10 is made and delivered with itssprings 64 fully coiled and ready to receive a line. Up to 90 feet oftow rope is attached at one end, opposite the handle 122, to the snaphook 54. The trigger 14 is depressed and the reel rotates, pulling therope 12 into the housing 20, 22. When nearly fully wrapped into thehousing, the tow handle 122 is affixed to the cleat on the housing forneat storage. For use in towing a water skier, the handle 122 isdetached from the housing and the rope is pulled out against the springtension, as above. When the rope is to be retracted and stored, the endis reconnected to the hook 54 on the bridle 50, and the trigger 14 ispulled to release the reel under the force and action of the twosprings. If the line is wet from being in the water, excess water dripsfrom the line as it is coiled; remaining water evaporates through theholes 38, 24 and 80, 24; via perforated plates 116, 118; and via openwindow 114.

Many variations may be made in the invention as shown and its manner ofuse, without departing from the principles of the invention as describedherein and/or as claimed as our invention. Minor variations will notavoid the use of the invention.

1. A reel assembly for storing and then releasing for use a tow rope,the rope selectively carrying a load along its length during use out ofthe reel assembly and being wound on the reel while not in use, theassembly comprising: a housing; a reel mounted rotatably in the housingabout an axis therein; at least one spring mounted to act between thehousing and the reel to rotate the reel in a first direction about theaxis for a desired number of rotations; a trigger and a latch controlledby the trigger, both mounted in the housing and selectively engaging thereel with the latch in a first position of the trigger to stop rotationof the reel in said first direction and to allow said rotation in saidfirst direction in a second, actuated position of the trigger and latch;and a connection member engaged at or adjacent one side or end with thereel and free at another side or end to selectively engage and disengagewith one end of said tow rope, as for a water skier or other item,whereby the tow rope is substantially fully collected for storage on thereel by the action of the spring in the housing when the rope isconnected to the connection member and the trigger and latch are thenactuated.
 2. The reel assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the latch isconfigured to allow rotation of the reel in a second direction, oppositeto the first direction, without actuation of the trigger and uponapplication of a suitable force to the rope on the reel that issufficient to overcome the opposing spring force applied on the reel,for removing the tow rope from the reel and to wind the spring for lateruse in retracting the tow rope.
 3. The reel assembly defined in claim 1,wherein the connection member is a short length of rope with one endengaging the reel and with a hook at an end opposite the one end,whereby the tow rope can be readily connected to the hook for storageand disconnected from it for use in towing with the full length of therope.